Say Something
by Hipster Canada
Summary: Gabriel has to say goodbye...


_Recommended listening: Say Something by A Great Big World_

* * *

No one noticed the presence of the nondescript brunet man in the hospital room. It's possible that he wasn't even really there. The room was quiet. The man in the bed had been unconscious for days, and he remained a John Doe despite an almost week long search for his identity. "A man that size," one of the nurses said once. "Can't just lose him. Someone's got to be missing him." And they were. They had just already given up hope.

"Say something," the visitor whispered. _I'm giving up on you._

He hadn't believed the rumors. He still couldn't believe his eyes. The impenetrable Sam Winchester was falling. The visitor had always believed somewhat that the Winchesters both were immune to death. Well. It wasn't as if they hadn't died before. This time just felt different. Maybe it was.

A finality hung in the air, and everyone seemed to know that there would be nothing that could be done. Not even the visitor, much as he wanted to fix it all with a snap of his fingers. He could do nothing but watch. It was all that had been granted to him for the time being. It wasn't up to him. It wasn't up to anyone. It had all been decided.

"I'll be the one, if you want me to," he said, his voice still quiet. "Anywhere I would've followed you," he admitted. "I know you might not believe me, but it's true."

Quiet hung in the air for a long time.

_Say something, I'm giving up on you_

"I am feeling so small right now," the visitor said, taking a step closer to the hospital bed. "You probably can't believe that. This is me we're talking about, after all. But it was over my head. I know nothing at all, Sam, nothing. Millenniums of knowledge, and I don't know squat."

A sigh.

"And I will stumble and fall. The falling's been done, actually." A pair of golden brown eyes stared at the waxed tiles below his shoes. "I'm still learning to love. Just starting to crawl. But I would have got there. I promise. For you."

The angel brought his eyes up to rest on Sam's pale face, and something welled up inside of him that he just couldn't handle. He couldn't take it. Sam shouldn't be here. Sam should never be here. Sam was supposed to be healthy and imperfect and beautiful. Not unconscious and dying in a hospital bed.

"SAY SOMETHING!" he screamed at the unresponsive form. "I'm giving up on you, Sam!" Tears welled in his eyes and dripped down his cheeks, but he didn't pay them any attention. "I'm sorry that I couldn't get to you!" he cried, his voice breaking. "I meant it, Sam, I did. _Anywhere. _I would've followed you anywhere. I'd follow you now, but I'm not allowed. I will swallow my pride. My pride, Sammy, and you know that's a lot. I would do anything for you, Sam, please. You have to pull through this, or it's over. Over for us. Over for anything we might have become." Gabriel sniffled and caressed Sam's smooth face with a gentle touch. "Say something," he whispered, his voice completely wrecked. "I'm giving up on you."

Silence hung in the air again. Gabriel closed his eyes, feeling the all-too-human sting of tears behind his eyelids. In all his centuries on Earth, and his ages in Heaven, he had never cried. The Winchester had ruined him. Torn down every defense and wormed his way under Gabriel's skin. Gabriel had wanted to teach Sam a lesson. He had never expected to fall in love. He'd never felt this way in his life, and under the circumstances, it was less than welcome. It was several minutes before Gabriel took a shaky breath and pressed a kiss to Sam's forehead. "You're the one that I love," Gabriel admitted. "It's obvious you're having a long chat with the fourth horseman himself right now. And I'm saying goodbye." Gabriel's voice cracked again on the last word and he felt a sob wrack his body. "You're gonna love it, Sammy. Everyone's up there. Your mom. All your friends. Most of the real dicks are gone, so it's real nice up in Heaven. I can't follow where you're going, but I got to come say goodbye. It's not enough, and it's not fair. But nothing's fair in love and war, and this is definitely love."

Gabriel stepped back, taking a good, long look at Sam for the last time. He would never get to see Sam again. If ever he got a peek at what was happening on Earth, he would no longer be interested. Sam was the only good thing that had happened to Gabriel in a very long time. And once he was removed from the picture, Gabriel would have only the memories.

"Say something," Gabriel whispered one last time.

And then Heaven gained a Winchester.


End file.
